IPS: IRL: 2005 IRL television package announced

INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 20, 2004 -- ESPN telecasts will book-end the 2005
Indy Racing LeagueÂ® IndyCarÂ® Series television schedule announced by the
IRL in conjunction with its broadcast partners ABC Sports and ESPN.
ESPN will televise a total of 10...

INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 20, 2004 -- ESPN telecasts will book-end the 2005
Indy Racing League® IndyCar® Series television schedule announced by the
IRL in conjunction with its broadcast partners ABC Sports and ESPN.

ESPN will televise a total of 10 races, including the season-opening
Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 6 and the season
finale, the Toyota Indy 400 at the California Speedway on Oct. 16. ESPN
will also telecast the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the first
non-oval event in IndyCar Series history, on April 3.

ESPN2 will telecast the night race from Richmond International Raceway,
giving ESPN networks all three prime-time events on the IndyCar Series
schedule.

ABC Sports, which will broadcast the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race for the
41st consecutive year, will open its 2005 coverage of the IndyCar Series
on March 19 from Phoenix International Raceway. The network's coverage
of the Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for May 29.

ABC Sports will broadcast five of the IndyCar Series' final seven
events, including the series debut at Watkins Glen International on
Sept. 25.

The 2005 schedule is an extension of the wide-ranging multimedia
agreement announced by the IRL, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, ABC Sports
and ESPN in May and continues a relationship that began when the IRL
debuted in 1996. ESPN has televised Indianapolis 500 qualifying since
1987, and ESPN2 joined the coverage in 1996. ABC Sports has televised
the Indianapolis 500 since 1965, including live coverage since 1986.

The agreement includes comprehensive coverage of the IndyCar Series,
the IRL Menards Infiniti Pro Series as well as ancillary programming
support, extensive coverage of the Indianapolis 500 and the distribution
rights for IRL-related programming and content on numerous ESPN outlets,
including ESPN Classic, ESPN International and ESPN.com.

ESPN also holds rights to emerging technologies such as pay-per-view,
video-on-demand, interactive TV, broadband, video game development
and wireless applications. ESPN will hold rights for high definition
distribution on ESPN HD and Spanish-language telecasts on ESPN Deportes.

ESPN International networks retain worldwide rights to televise race
coverage to 149 countries and territories. ESPN International will
continue as global syndication representative. Current syndication
agreements are in place with broadcasters in Brazil, Canada, Germany,
Japan, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, with pan-regional highlights
available on Eurosport, the most widely-distributed sports network in
Europe.

ESPN and ESPN2 will receive several programming opportunities as
part of the agreement, including exclusive coverage of the Menards
Infiniti Pro Series and Indy Racing League Banquet, an annual ESPN
Original Entertainment special, a Season Preview show and three one-hour
IRL-related specials a year.

The 2005 IRL IndyCar Series season begins with the Toyota Indy 300 on March 6 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The 2005 Menards Infiniti Pro Series season also opens on March 6 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.